Zanu-PF Women’s League endorses ED

Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Reporter
The ZANU-PF Women’s League yesterday endorsed President Mnangagwa as the party’s sole candidate for the 2023 presidential poll, describing him as a champion for women empowerment ahead of the ruling party’s People’s National Annual Conference slated for Matabeleland South Province next week.

The party’s Youth League and the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) have also endorsed President Mnangagwa’s candidature for the 2023 presidential election as has almost every province.

The league’s national assembly members hailed the President for allocating 30 percent of Cabinet posts to women, despite only a small number of them managing to make it to Parliament in the July 30 harmonised elections.

Addressing the Women’s League national assembly meeting in Harare yesterday, the league’s secretary for Administration Cde Monica Mutsvangwa announced the decision to endorse President Mnangagwa’s candidature, among a host of other resolutions.

The women also deplored the chaotic primary elections in the party earlier this year, like the imposition of candidates.

Cde Mutsvangwa said women were confident President Mnangagwa’s hard work and dedication to duty would turn around the economy and bring an improved standard of living.

“Women’s League supports the President and First Secretary of Zanu-PF Cde ED Mnanagawa’s leadership and therefore endorses him as the sole candidate for the 2023 election,” she said.

Cde Mutsvangwa said President Mnagagwa was a servant leader dedicated to duty.

“President Mnangagwa arrives at work around 7.45am everyday and leaves office at 9pm. That is a sign of hard work and dedication to duty,” she said.

The endorsement, Cde Mutsvangwa said, was unanimously made after consultations with all the country’s 10 provinces.

Addressing the same gathering, President Mnangagwa promised to restore sanity in the next primary elections, saying the imposition of candidates was now a thing of the past.

“When we held our primary elections this year, there were a lot of errors and problems. Those who were not strong enough could have been affected to the extent of quitting the party. You did not.

“Since you have the party at heart, you proceeded to vote for those imposed candidates although you were unhappy with the imposition,” he said.

The President said some challenges occurred because the commissariat had a new leader who was still learning.

He said Cde Engelbert Rugeje was now an experienced commissar and that the mistakes would not be repeated.

The President said the chief culprits in the imposition scandal were the party leadership.

“I do not think the juniors have the capacity to impose the seniors to positions, but instead, it is the seniors who can endorse people.

“We are totally against imposition of candidates. That will never happen again. The people’s choice must be respected. If people choose the leader they want and you take them for fools and impose the one that you want, you end up being the real fool,” he said.

Secretary for Women’s Affairs Cde Mabel Chinomona described President Mnangagwa as the champion of women’s empowerment.